is an
American record label, owned by
Warner Music Group and distributed through
Warner Bros. Records
The label was founded in
1966 as ''Sire Productions'' by
Seymour Stein and
Richard Gottehrer . Its early releases as a record label were issued in
1968 , distributed by
London Records . The label was then distributed by
Polydor Records from
1970 until
1971 , during which the now-famous logo was first introduced, and then by
Famous Music from
1972 to
1974 , during which the progressive rock band
Focus charted with their 1972 hit "
Hocus Pocus ." During the seventies, Sire released many well received complilation LPs, including the 3 volume "History Of British Rock" series, and well received comprehensive complilations by such diverse artists as
The Turtles ,
Duane Eddy ,
The Small Faces , and
Del Shannon . The label also scored another Top 40 hit in 1977 with The Climax Blues Band's "Couldn't Get It Right".
In the later ,
K.d. Lang ,
Tommy Page and
A House .
Mandy Moore was signed to Sire, but after creative differences, soon parted ways, later resulting in her signing with
The Firm music.
In
1995 , Sire left Warner Bros. to operate under its sister label
Elektra Records , where Stein was appointed president. Sire later left the Elektra umbrella, but remained at
Warner Music Group . In
2000 , Sire Records and the US division of
London Records were merged to become "
London-Sire Records " (still part of Warner Music Group). This partnership dissolved April
2003 , at which point the company went back to being called Sire Records. In the time since, it has returned to the Warner Bros. Records fold.
